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HONOLULU SNARES WILSON KIPSANG FROM SANDY WRECKAGE

Hurricane Sandy’s vast power has been such that it has now tossed elite marathoners to the far ends of the globe in hopes of redeeming their 2012 fall marathon campaigns following cancellation of the ING New York City Marathon.

Today, Honolulu Marathon Association President Jim Barahal revealed that New York fave and Olympic bronze medalist Wilson Kipsang of Kenya will be taking his talents to the 40th Honolulu Marathon on December 9th.

“We are disappointed he was not able to compete in New York,” texted Barahal, “but we’re pleased to be able to offer another opportunity for him to run, and we’re excited to have such a phenomenal athlete go after the course record in Honolulu.”

Wilson Kipsang was one of the New York elites who publicly acknowledged the difficulty faced by the New York Road Runners in cancelling the marathon, saying “This is terrible, but it’s part of life. I’m not angry. People suffered misfortune.”

With the New York Road Runners and the city of New York deciding to cancel the 42nd ING New York City Marathon just 40 hours before last Sunday’s scheduled start, there has been very little time to consider options.

Now the 2012 London champion, and second fastest “official” marathoner in history from his 2:03:42 win from Frankfurt in September 2011, will test himself on one of the legendary courses in the world, although one which doesn’t often draw the world’s super-elite to its starting line due to heat, humidity and budgetary constraints.

While stars like Ibrahim Hussein, Benson Masya and Cosmas Ndeti were discovered in Honolulu, and 1993 champion Lee Bong-ju of Korea and 1995 winner Josiah Thungwane of South Africa went on to win Olympic silver and gold medals in Atlanta 1996, this will be the first time a reigning Olympic medalist will compete in Honolulu in his Olympic year.

According to Honolulu race director Jon Cross 2011 L.A. Marathon champ (debut, 2:06:35) and 2012 Dubai Marathon third-placer (2:04:54) Markos Geneti of Ethiopia will also join the festivities with more names to follow. Stay tuned. Given the weather, always the key in Honolulu, we could be in for a record year.

The current Honolulu Marathon event record, 2:11:12, was set by Kenya’s Jimmy Muindi in 2004, in the fourth of his six Honolulu wins.

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4 comments on “HONOLULU SNARES WILSON KIPSANG FROM SANDY WRECKAGE”

[…] … and Wilson Kipsang Is Headed to Honolulu Kipsang, the 2012 London Marathon champ and Olympic bronze medalist who won the 2011 Frankfurt Marathon in 2:03:42, was arguably the favorite in the New York City Marathon that ended up being cancelled. Kipsang said the cancellation "is terrible, but it’s part of life. I’m not angry. People suffered misfortune." He's agreed to do the December 9 Honolulu Marathon, and Honolulu Marathon President Jim Barahal affirms, "we’re pleased to be able to offer another opportunity for him to run, and we’re excited to have such a phenomenal athlete go after the course record in Honolulu." The record is 2:11:12. More […]

[…] But with the New York City race called off, Kenya’s Kipsang, whose 2:03:42 in Frankfurt in 2011 is just four seconds slower than Patrick Makau’s world record, was among the elite marathoners looking for another venue in which to utilize his well-honed fitness. Many of the elite men who’d come to New York may be going to Japan’s Fukuoka Marathon on December 2, but Kipsang will head to Honolulu, as Toni Reavis is reporting. […]